Luverne Klar was an Iowa state champion for Osage High School and a two-time All-American for Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa.

He finished third at the NCAA tournament and helped UNI finish second as a team in 1949 and finished fourth and helped UNI win the NCAA team title in 1950.

Klar was already well known in wrestling when he began his coaching career at Mankato High School in Mankato, Minnesota in 1951. He led Mankato and later Mankato West for 36 years.

His teams won the Minnesota state team title in the old "one-class tournament" in 1964 and also had five runner-up finishes. Mankato also won nine Big Nine Conference titles, including six in a row from 1956 to 1961. During that stretch the Scarlets won 43 straight conference meets.

Klar coached 15 state champions and 57 state place-winners while compiling a career record of 359-161-11. He also coached baseball for 35 years and was a wrestling official for 30 years. He took baseball and wrestling teams into competition more than 1,000 times and his combined win total for baseball and wrestling was 629.

He is also a member of the Charter Class of the Dave Bartelma Minnesota Wrestling Hall of Fame and a member of the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame.

When people look back at the years when Minnesota high school wrestling really grew to its level of today, one of the names that will come to mind is that of Luveme Klar.

A great wrestler, a great coach and a great leader of young men.